Land use change and its impact on ecosystem service value in Xinjiang

Abstract Xinjiang is an important hub connecting China and Eurasia and has a vital strategic position in economy, energy, and ecological security. However, owing to the fragile ecological environment in Xinjiang, substantial challenges exist in coordinating the relationship between social and economic development and ecological environment construction. To elucidate the relationship between land use changes induced by human activities and the valuation of ecosystem services, this study utilized the value equivalent method to evaluate the ecosystem service value in Xinjiang from 2000 to 2020 while analyzing its spatiotemporal response characteristics related to land use. Results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the value of ecosystem services in Xinjiang showed an upward trend, reaching 25.77 USD hm −2 in 2020, and the total value of the whole region was 42.80 billion USD. The value of ecological services in Xinjiang was mainly low grade (about 50%), and high grade only accounted for 1.03%–2.19%. A significant increase in land use in forested areas and water body was noted, whereas the conversion trend from effective grassland to other land types was relatively limited—specifically, 4.47% of bare land and 3.76% of meadows were transformed into water body. Additionally, 2.69% of grassland experienced conversion into woodland. The land use intensity was generally low (more than 85% of the low-grade states), and 83.71% of the land use intensity increased during the study period. The water body was the main controlling factor of the service value of the state system, with a contribution rate of 78.83%, followed by grassland (11.29%) and woodlands (9.30%), and 54.39% of the land use changes increased the value of ecosystem services.